Chapter 735: Chun Wangfu

"Chun Wang..."

The lead Daoist's expression changed. "This time, it's a big deal!"

Chun Wang is the Snow Mountain Prince.

The Snow Mountain Prince was originally tasked with the permanent defense of Kungang, but in recent years, he has fought against the Turtle Bandits in Kungang to protect the peace of the southwest, achieving distinguished merits. Especially in the last year or two, he has nearly wiped out the Turtle Bandits in one region. Coupled with the fact that the Emperor has just begun to rule personally and is currently promoting his own people and relying on the imperial clan and new nobles, the line of the Snow Mountain Prince, who had always been on the frontier, was transferred back to Jingcheng and re-titled as Chun Wang.

The upper echelons of Jingcheng are most sensitive to such shifts in the landscape. People had long speculated that the Chun Wang line was here to replace Shou Wang. As Shou Wang shifted all his energy toward longevity, his power and symbolic status were also due for a shift. This new Chun Wang certainly cannot replicate the status of the Prince Regent that Shou Wang once held, but he might occupy the position and squeeze Shou Wang out completely.

As a result, although Chun Wang has been in the capital for less than a year and has not yet gained a firm foothold, he already has a place in the upper circles of Jingcheng, and his future is limitless.

This is something the recently exterminated Hengchang Prince Mansion cannot compare to.

Don't look at the title of Hengchang Prince as grand; in reality, he was merely a two-character commandery prince. Moreover, it was not a fief with actual power; he only had a mansion in Jingcheng and no territory of his own, making him even worse off than the previous Snow Mountain Prince.

In fact, to speak carefully, it was quite shameful. The old Hengchang Prince, who was the father of the current one, actually had territory in an outer commandery. The Imperial Court gave him a fief in the north; while it couldn't compare to the Youzhou of Shun Wang, it still had the land of two commanderies. Although it was a frontier, it was much better than a harsh place like Liangzhou, only suffering from frequent barbarian incursions. But this old prince had no ability at all; he went out once, was beaten black and blue, and rolled back to Jingcheng. From then on, he had to live off his salary and permanently lost the favor of the Emperor.

Therefore, the Hengchang Prince's family was just a miscellaneous prince family in Jingcheng, not very noble. People like this, not to say they are more numerous than the turtles in a pond, are at least not missed if they are gone. Their extermination might cause panic, but it would not shift the political situation.

But Chun Wang is different. Chun Wang is someone the current Emperor favors; he is a new force in a rising phase. His seat is not yet warm; if something happens to Chun Wang, it will certainly trigger a shock in the court and the public, and the Emperor's fury...

What, the current Emperor can no longer be furious?

Outsiders don't know that.

It hasn't reached their level yet.

In short, the lead Daoist was a bit anxious and hurriedly said, "Go, go, go! Let's rush over! Don't let the thieves hurt Chun Wang."

The group immediately organized and rushed over desperately.

Tang Zhao was also in the group, but he was not just in the group; the moment he heard the news, his Sword Intent, that ray of light, had already flown out, rushing toward Chun Wangfu.

One must know, the people of the Dao Palace consider the overall political situation and fear that if Chun Wang is lost, it will shake the already unstable court; Tang Zhao is concerned about his friend—Wang Fei.

Wang Fei is the Snow Mountain Prince, now moved to the capital with his father, and is currently at Chun Wangfu. The two have known each other for more than two years, their relationship has always been very good, and their connection with Yunzhou is also extremely tight. Part of this is politics, and part of it is sentiment. Tang Zhao is not responsible for politics; he cares about the sentiment.

In fact, he had wanted to go to Chun Wangfu to find Wang Fei and understand the situation, but out of concern for the National Teacher's gaze, he did not want to implicate his friend, so he didn't go. But now, he couldn't care about so much. The enemy would arrive in an instant; if these Daoists still planned to run to Chun Wangfu, wouldn't the opportunity be lost by the time they arrived?

Moreover, even if they arrived in time to catch the enemy's attack, the enemy would surely be incomparably powerful. What use are these Daoists if these Sword Guests are not enough?

Although Xu Zhongnan mentioned that in the Nine Heavens Dao Palace, apart from the National Teacher himself, no one else follows the path of the Sword Guest, they all possess powerful strength. This Daoist dared to lead a team to pursue the criminals, so naturally, he has a trump card, but Tang Zhao could not pin his hopes on them.

Therefore, while Tang Zhao himself followed the team, that ray of light had already flown to the top of the mansion.

Chun Wangfu and the Hengchang Prince Mansion are in the same district, not far away. Tang Zhao's light arrived instantly, and he nervously overlooked the mansion from the perspective of the sky.

And then he saw... peace.

Chun Wangfu is currently very peaceful. Although, because the situation is tense, it is like other prince mansions, closing its doors to guests, and even the old Chun Wang was called into the palace by an imperial decree and has not returned, the mansion's operations are all normal, and the people are fine. Tang Zhao even saw Wang Fei, who was arranging the mansion's affairs in his capacity as the Prince, his expression as usual.

Good! Made it in time!

This means the enemy is coming soon. According to previous standards, they should strike at the moment just before the Dao Palace arrives, and they will strike hard.

This time, Tang Zhao is lying in wait in advance, and he should be able to see the mastermind. Compared to guessing back and forth over an unfamiliar corpse, how can that compare to seeing the enemy with his own eyes?

Tang Zhao transformed into a ray of light and hung beside Wang Fei. He did not go to the main gate but guarded the core of the mansion.

To think that any attack must be a break-in is too rigid; only wild Jianghu rogues do that. One must know that the several masters of the Hengchang Prince Mansion all died in the inner courtyard, with no signs of panic or scattering; it was clear they had their hearts gouged out.

Therefore, Tang Zhao boldly deduced that this time the attack would descend, and using Wang Fei, the Prince, as the first target is very likely.

Although Tang Zhao was on full alert, he did not notify Wang Fei. Firstly, he was afraid of alerting the enemy and leaking traces, which would instead make the other side strike like thunder. Secondly, there was no time. In Tang Zhao's estimation, it would take the Dao Palace people about a cup of tea's time to arrive, so the other side would have to strike before that. So they would act soon; this time was only enough for Wang Fei to shout, not enough to assign tasks. How much power could he mobilize? It is safest to do it himself.

However...

Tang Zhao did not expect that after waiting and waiting, he did not wait for the enemy, but only waited for those people from the Dao Palace.

"Great, made it in time!"

Although the lead Daoist was a cup of tea late, the exclamation he made was exactly the same as Tang Zhao's.

He didn't have time to say more and told people to open the door. Although the mansion gate was tightly closed, since it was the National Teacher's Dao Palace calling for the door, as long as the people weren't all dead, it could always be opened.

Hearing that people from the Dao Palace had come, Wang Fei dropped everything at hand and went out to greet them. He was nervous, his palms sweating. The situation was so tense that he felt it in the mansion; his father was called out and did not return, and the Dao Palace coming to the door was very likely bad news.

When the door opened and he asked the Daoist... it really was bad news!

It just wasn't the kind of bad news he had expected.

"What... our family is being targeted? There is a danger of extermination?"

Tang Zhao did not alert the enemy, and the people from the Dao Palace were not afraid of being alerted. They were full of confidence and spoke straight to the point.

"Prince, would this humble Daoist joke about this? Quickly gather the people in the house, do not scatter, and give others an opportunity. We are here to protect you."

Wang Fei also knew that there was no time to distinguish between true and false, and being careful would not lead to mistakes. He hurriedly led people to gather the family members and the guards in the house.

The foundation of the Snow Mountain Prince is not comparable to a Jingcheng commandery prince like Hengchang. Back then, their family had an army of 100,000, fierce generals like clouds under their command, several Sword Heroes, and Sword Guests were not even worth counting.

Entering the capital, the army certainly could not be brought, and many old generals had to stay in Kungang to guard, but there were also those who voluntarily abandoned their posts to follow. At this time, there was also a female Sword Hero in the mansion guarding the inner residence, and several Sword Guests holding the line. At this time, they were called together, surrounding the inner family members, and the Sword Guests formed a military formation, which could exert even stronger strength.

With this lineup, even if the Tang Zhao from before going to Wangliang Mountain came, he could hold out for a while.

Seeing this formation, Tang Zhao did not feel at ease but felt worried: that mastermind dared to move against such a mansion and confidently issued a warning, so what is their strength? They couldn't be acting without investigation and overestimating themselves, right?

The lead Daoist said to himself, "Prince, do not worry. You can keep these people as a backup; our Dao Palace will pacify the enemy first."

Ha, so confident?

Even Tang Zhao wouldn't dare say that.

Wang Fei, like Tang Zhao, had only recently entered the capital and followed the strength of local displays of force and real blades and guns. He only respected the prestige of the National Teacher but had never seen the real deal. Besides, no matter how strong the National Teacher is, you are just ordinary disciples, not the famous Zhongmeng Zhenren who protects the country. How are you so confident?

As if seeing Wang Fei's doubt, the Daoist opened his hand, revealing a small sword the length of a palm.

That small sword was deep blue, with a layer of faint light. Although it was a fixed shape, it seemed as if it would twist and jump at any moment.

This sword was like a bolt of lightning, but lightning cannot be grasped, yet this bolt of lightning was clearly in his hand.

Wang Fei whispered, "Is it the power of the National Teacher?"

The Daoist raised his head and said, "Exactly. Although the old master is not here, his power protects us! In the land of Jingcheng, what are you afraid of?"

Although Wang Fei did not have as much confidence in the National Teacher as he did, it was clear he was much more at ease. A person's name is like a tree's shadow; the National Teacher's power is incomparable, which is also a recognized fact.

Tang Zhao suddenly thought in his heart: I originally thought the National Teacher was omniscient and omnipotent in Jingcheng, with every corner in his eyes, and he would know the gender of a fly flying past. But it seems that is not the case. His attention is also limited. Even in Jingcheng, as long as it is a place he does not specifically pay attention to, things he does not want to happen may occur. Even after it happens, he may not necessarily be able to react immediately.

Thinking about it further, Tang Zhao became even more convinced: if the State Preceptor could know everything in Jingcheng, why could he not know about the conflict between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor? If he had discovered it early, he could clearly have prevented the tragedy. It is evident that even in the heavily guarded Imperial Palace, he cannot monitor everything at all times.

It seems his power is not passive, but active. He currently focuses his power on a few key locations, carrying out targeted eliminations of dangerous elements and monitoring the surrounding feudal lords, so the Jingcheng in the middle is like the eye of a typhoon, revealing a flaw instead.

In order to better exercise his power, he distributed his power to various Disciples in the form of summoning, so these Disciples could handle situations on the spot in different places, checking for omissions and making up for deficiencies.

This form, hmm, looks a bit familiar...

Wangliang Mountain!

The way these Disciples use their power is somewhat like the Abyss Envoy, isn't it?

Put this way, the State Preceptor is...

Just as he was pondering, he suddenly turned his head:

It's here!